Crazy Not To
by angel-junkie
Summary: Set after Those LazyHazyCrazy Days. What if Lorelai and Luke's talk in the diner took a slightly different path…? And he knew because it was what he wanted. JavaJunkie
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Crazy Not To

SUMMERY: Set after "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days". What if Lorelai and Luke's talk in the diner took a slightly different path…? And he knew because it was what he wanted. JavaJunkie

DISCLAIMER: Not owned by me. Just playing with the toys…

Chapter 1:

"… And I swear I hate admitting it because I fancy myself Wonder Woman, but…I really want it – the whole package."

"You'll get it."

"How do you know?"

"I know."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know, okay? I know. Now eat your donut."

"I'm really not very hungry. _How_ do you know?"

Luke sighed and put the receipts down. Slowly, he turned to face her. "I know because any man would be crazy to not want to give you those things."

Lorelai shyly met Luke's gaze, unsure of what she would see there, scared of the feelings his words ignited.

"You didn't screw up with Max, you just realised the truth, that you weren't right. And Christopher? Christopher's an idiot for not sticking around in the first place. When you didn't want to get married."

Lorelai nodded slowly and Luke could tell she was gearing up to say something. It wasn't very often that she worried about the effects of her words, so when the subtle change appeared, Luke could pick it a mile away.

"Luke? What you said before, about any man being crazy…?" she let her sentence fade out. She wasn't sure of the answer he'd give her or if she was ready to hear it.

Luke shrugged. "I'm not crazy and I told you last year that I would always be here for you. For Rory too. That hasn't changed."

Lorelai nodded. Luke could see her mind ticking over and suddenly realised the implication of his words. He watched as she slowly stood and moved around the counter so she was standing on the employee side. A place Luke rarely let her venture. He held his breath as she nodded to herself, seeming to have come to a decision. His eyes never left hers as she stepped to within a foot of him.

Instinctively, he took a step back. "What are you doing?"

She offered him a half smile. "Will you just stand still?" she asked, stepping up to him again and taking his face gently in her hands. Less than a second later her lips met his.

The kiss was slow and tentative as if she were dipping her big toe into a pool in the middle of summer. But it hadn't lasted nearly long enough when Luke pulled away.

Her eyes snapped open and fell upon his questioningly. When she saw the same reflected in his eyes her arms dropped to her sides and her shoulders drooped. She was about to apologise when Luke moved forward.

"What are you doing?

With a slight smirk, Luke replied, "Will you just stand still?"

He closed the gap and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close. Automatically her hands gripped his soft flannel shirt, before she slid them up to his shoulders. Her left hand held on tight, while her right continued north and lost its self in the soft curls at that were barely visible under the backward peak of Luke's baseball cap.

The baseball cap that she had given him two years ago, that he had not taken off. Not even when she was engaged and set to marry Max. Not even when Rachel returned.

She heard the soft moan escape her lips as Luke's hands fell to her waist, and reluctantly pulled away. "Luke," she breathed. "We cant. Not tonight."

Luke nodded and stepped back slightly, his hands still on her hips. "I know.

She bit her lip as her hands fell to his chest. "Luke," she breathed, pleadingly.

He shook his head. "Take your time. I know you just came out of a, a thing with Christopher. I'll be here. I'm always here. For you and Rory."

At the mention of her daughter, Lorelai seemed to snap out of whatever dream-state she was in. "oh, God! Rory! She's probably wondering where I am!"

She quickly slipped out of Luke's grasp and gathered her things. When she'd gathered it all she realised that Luke was still standing in much the same position as he had been in when their kiss ended. Now he was facing the front of the diner and not the storeroom side.

"I'm so sorry, Luke. I don't mean to kiss and run, but she only got back today and-"

Luke held up a hand to stop her. "No. I get it, its okay. I'll see the two of you in here for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

Lorelai nodded with a huge grin. "You bet!" she hesitated on the edge of the stool. "C'mere," she murmured, leaning across the counter slightly.

Luke smiled and met her halfway in a slow kiss.

"Bye." She mumbled against his lips, before kissing him quickly once again.

"Good night, Lorelai."

She waved quickly as she stepped out the door of the diner and walked into the warm late summer night, a smile plastered to her lips.

XXX

Rory was silently sulking and unpacking books when Lorelai arrived home from the diner a short time later. She tried to break the ice after their earlier fight by talking about how to get the _Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days_ song out of their heads.

Then she went about apologizing to her daughter for her reaction. When Rory agreed that the 'make up your mind' sentiment was well called for, Lorelai realised that things were going to be okay. At least on the Gilmore girl front.

"So, how was dinner?" served Rory.

"So, how was Dean?" returned Lorelai.

"So, how was dinner?" shot Rory.

"So, how was Dean?" volleyed Lorelai.

"Ladies and gentlemen the Williams sisters take center stage at Wimbledon once again." Rory remarked dryly.

Lorelai sighed. "Dinner was bad."

"Sorry." Rory offered.

"That's okay. I knew it would be. Oh! But the good new is we can now go back to _Luke's_!"

Rory's face brightened. "You made up! How did you make up?"

Lorelai's face turned into a slow smirk. "Well, we got to talking."

Rory nodded, only slightly perturbed by the smirk that her mother was wearing. "Sure."

Lorelai returned the nod. "You remember that dream I had the other night about Luke and twins and alarm clocks?"

Rory nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"Well, that dream might have actually been a premonition."

"Are you pregnant? God, when Christopher shoots her really does score!"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "That's something I would say."

"Well, apparently I am you."

"Anyway, that's not what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean?"

Lorelai raised an eyebrow suggestively. She smirked again as understanding began to appear across Rory's face.

"How _did_ you make up? Sans anything dirty." Rory rushed to add.

Lorelai rested her elbow comfortably on the back of the couch and started playing with her hair. "Well, I'm Mimi now."

Rory nodded. "Sure." She replied, not at all fazed by her mother's explanation. She did, however, wave a hand for Lorelai to continue.

"Like I said before, we got to talking. I kinda admitted to him that, one day, I would like to live that couple life I let myself dream about with Max. And then your dad."

Rory nodded slowly.

"Don't get me wrong, honey. I love this super-special, girls-only club thing we've got going. I love that's its always been you and me against the worlds. But next year you're gonna be away at Harvard. And after that you'll move on to the big, wide world. And I'll be here. I don't always want to be on my own. I want the love, the comfort, the safety of the couple life."

Rory nodded. It was something she had assumed ever since Lorelai's engagement to Max. And while Max was great (really, he _was_) and her dad _was_ her dad, she had, at least in the back of her mind, thought it'd be Luke. "So, what happened?"

Lorelai ducked her head for a second and looked up with a slow smile spreading across her features. "We kissed."

Rory's jaw dropped. "Kissed?"

Lorelai nodded, eyes shining. "Yep, kissed."

Rory was silent for a moment before she squealed and flung herself at Lorelai. "Oh, mom. This is fantastic!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! When did you realise his was perfect for you?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Honestly, I didn't get that far. Luke said that any man would be crazy not to want to give me the 'whole package'. And when I questioned him about it, he said he wasn't crazy and that he would always be here for me, for us."

Rory sighed. "Wow, mom! Who knew Luke could be such a softy? Actually, I think we both _knew_ it, but rarely _saw_ it. Mom, this, you and Luke, its… it's the best news I've heard since… well, since for ages."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it is."

_One shot so far. If I get enough reviews telling me to, I'm sure I can be persuaded to continue..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Honestly, did you think it would take all that much persuasion to, you know, persuade me?_

_Cheers for the reviews though, guys. You seriously do not understand how good they make me feel. Not going to get sappy, but life sucks and reviews make my day._

_Also, I promise to do my best and follow the show as much as possible. Some episodes wont even rate a mention, while some might have a couple of lines borrowed. This chapter (possibly the longest one I have written – EVER!!) falls into the second (?) category. Nothing to do with past episodes what so ever. Sorta… hmmm…_

_Oh, and I'm probably gonna totally suck at updating from now on cause this is my THIRD (!!) story on-the-go. I really should think about actually finishing stories before I post new ones, eh? Only one is completely typed up…_

Chapter 2

The following morning Lorelai woke up at 7. While during the week this was normal, for a Saturday it was decidedly _un_-normal. She couldn't remember a time when she had willingly woke at that hour, barring the occasional Christmas or birthday that fell on the day of 'pre-rest'.

She was showered and dressed by 8, which she knew to be even more unusual. Normally it took her that long to simply get out of bed. She would lie there and plan her outfit and how exactly she was going to annoy Luke at breakfast. Normally she didn't even entertain the idea of getting up until she heard Rory moving around downstairs. That is, of course, unless she had to work. And she didn't have to work that day.

By the time Rory stumbled out of her room, Lorelai had drunk four cups of coffee, eaten two Pop Tarts (strawberry milkshake flavor) and a small bowl of _Rice Krispies_ with marshmallows (the creamy white ones that Rory loved and Lorelai loved to eat before her).

"Mom?" Rory asked, almost whimpering.

Lorelai looked away from the re-run NCIS she was half watching. "What's the matter, babe?"

Rory wore a lost look. "Why are you up so early? And _dressed_?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." She offered.

Rory, still not fully awake and functioning, nodded and moved to make herself a coffee. She fetched herself a cold Pop Tart (a crazy chocolate-y flavor) and sunk into the couch next to Lorelai, proceeding to let her head fall comfortably against her mother's shoulder.

Rory was silent as she ate her Pop Tart and sipped her coffee. Then, about a minute after she drank the last of the warm beverage, it hit her. "You can't wait to get to _Luke's_!" she accused.

Lorelai shrugged again and smirked. "Oh, McGee. You got me."

Disappointed with the lack of denial, Rory slumped back against the couch. " I thought we agreed that NCIS was out?"

"Yeah, but it's a season 1 or 2 repeat. And you know I'm a sucker for that whole Kate-and-Tony-_not_-romance."

Rory rolled her eyes but didn't comment. She knew what was coming next.

"They were perfect for each other and then she _died_!"

Yep, there it was. "How many times to we have to go over this? The chick that played her-"

"Sasha Alexander?"

"Yes, her. She got pregnant or wanted out or something. And what sort of perfect are we talking? 'You and Luke perfect' or 'Monica and Chandler perfect'?"

"Me and Luke prefect?"

"Yeah, you know: the flirting, the teasing, the banter. You and Luke - Kate and Tony."

"Me and Luke are nothing like Kate and Tony."

"Name one difference."

"Our names?"

"Well, duh!"

"Luke and I are alliterating. Luke, Lorelai. L, L, see? Like 'Ross' and 'Rachel'. 'Kate' and 'Tony' aren't."

"True. But you have the same privilege thing."

"Huh?"

"Tony came from a privileged family, Kate didn't. You come from a privileged up-bringing, Luke doesn't."

Lorelai scoffed. "I couldn't get outta there fast enough, though."

"And there's the whole 'city vs. town' thing, too." Rory continued as if Lorelai hadn't spoken.

"What?"

"Well, Luke, like Kate, doesn't mind living in a small town. You, like Tony, like the city."

"We don't live in the city." Lorelai pointed out.

Rory shrugged. "We did."

"For a year! Not counting before you were born."

"Still, it's a year longer than Luke."

"You don't know that."

"Do too."

"How?"

Rory smirked and got up off the couch. "I'm going to have a shower, then we can go." She paused. "If you want." She added with a cheeky grin that was rewarded with a pillow aimed at her head. It missed and she laughed.

XXX

"Hey, you know, it just occurred to me that with all my news last night we never got around to discussing you." Lorelai implored as they walked through town on their way to _Luke's_ half an hour later.

"About _me_?"

Lorelai bobbed her head from side to side. "Well, about you and Dean, then. Is there still a Dean?"

Rory hesitated then sighed. "Yeah. But I think we're breaking up."

"Oh?"

"We ran into Jess."

"Oh."

"It was awkward and Dean asked what'd happened between us. Me and Jess." She added in way of explanation.

"And?"

"Well, I didn't say anything about the kiss. I just said that I didn't know he was back."

"Did Dean believe you?"

"He said he did, but I'm not sure. Its so stupid."

"What is?"

"All of it. I mean I know there's this… thing between Jess and I. He reads and likes similar music and we can argue over books and authors and movies and music and stuff. Everything with him, like out friendship or whatever it is, has always been so… I don't know, easy?"

Lorelai nodded in understanding. "I know that feeling."

"Well, yeah. It's the same with you and Luke. There's always been an attraction and you've always been friends, too. And you and da- Christopher – were friends for years, too. Before, well, me." Lorelai nodded. "And I love Dean, I really do."

"But?"

"But, I don't know. We used to just… click, you know? But now, after the accident and New York and the wedding and… everything it all seems so hard. I mean, I would never intentionally hurt him or anything like that, but…"

"There it is again." Lorelai murmured as they crossed the corner near Doose's.

"Yeah. There's, like, these doubts. _Maybe Dean isn't right for me? Maybe I don't love him as much as I used to? Maybe_, I don't know, _maybe I would be happier with Jess?_"

"I'm sensing yet another 'but'."

Rory nodded. "But _you_ don't like him." She hesitated and looked at her mother. "You told me once, last year, that my opinion meant everything to you."

"That's cause it does, hon." Lorelai interjected.

"Exactly. And your opinion means everything to me, too. And you've told me you've known guys like Jess, and I trust and believe you. You've got a pretty decent track record with telling me the truth."

"'Pretty good'? What kind of percentage is that?"

"Ninety-five."

"Ninety-five!? Why only _ninety-five_?"

"For nearly ten years I believed the stove was The Devil. I was petrified of the kitchen! It wasn't until I said something in front of Mrs. Kim that I realised you were lying!"

Lorelai snickered. "Really?"

"Yes!"

By now they were nearly at the steps that lead up to _Luke's_. nervously, Lorelai tucked an errant curl behind her ear and smoothed her t-shirt.

Rory smirked. "wow."

Lorelai snapped her head around. "what?"

Rory shook her head, the smirk still present. "I've never seen you nervous about going into _Luke's_."

"I'm not nervous."

Rory smiled. "Sure."

"I'm not! Rory! Wait!" growling, Lorelai jogged up the stairs behind her daughter. "One word and you're dead." She hissed warningly as the bells tinkled.

Lorelai's eyes immediately sought out the backwards-baseball cap wearing diner owner. He was standing in his usual position behind the counter topping up Kirk's 'quarter-caff'. As soon as he heard the bells he looked up and met her eyes. His face softened slightly and he almost smiled.

Almost.

"Anywhere?" she questioned.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, anywhere. That's _free_." He added hastily, seeing the gleam flash in Lorelai's eyes.

She pouted and looked away from the full table she had intended on annoying and took a seat to the left of the door.

They had only been sitting for five seconds when Luke came over carrying two huge mugs of coffee.

Lorelai grinned. "You _do_ know the way to a girl's heart, huh?"

He shook his head and glanced at Rory, who was watching them with an amused expression. "Nope, just you two." He muttered, putting the mugs down in front of them.

"Oh! Even better! No competition." She added to Rory with a knowing smile.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Luke."

"That's okay, Rory. At least one of you knows their manners."

Lorelai shrugged easily. "Musta skipped a generation."

"You think?" he deadpanned.

She nodded.

"So, what do you want? For breakfast?"

Lorelai grinned and looked up at him with flirty eyes.

"If you say anything that could require a 'dirty' for a comeback you wont get _anything_."

Lorelai frowned. "Two choc-chip pancakes and some bacon and eggs. Extra bacon, light on the eggs."

Luke wrote it down and looked expectantly at Rory.

"French toast and a chic-chip pancake, _please_."

Luke smirked. "Won't be long. He replied and headed back to the counter to put the order through.

"Neither will I." Muttered Lorelai as she followed Luke to the counter.

Rory watched her go as Jess came down the stairs. Their eyes met and he turned abruptly and went back up. Rory sighed and turned her gaze out the window as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Oh, Lu-uke." Called Lorelai from the counter stool next to the register.

"One sec." He answered as he finished taking an order. "Yeah?"

Lorelai smiled seductively and in the most flirtatious voice she could muster, replied, "Hi."

Luke looked slightly bemused. "Uh, hi?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "That's all I get. I was doing my best flirty voice and everything." she pouted.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Rory and I talked last night. About… stuff."

"And? You and Rory talk about 'stuff' all the time. Most of which I have no idea what you're talking about."

Lorelai rolled her eyes again. "And we got to talking about us."

"'Us'?"

"You and me, 'us'." Lorelai answered waving a hand between them.

"Oh, and?"

Lorelai sighed. "I… it… well, she was so excited by what I told her, like the kiss and the making up and the talking."

"But?"

"Oh, my God! That word. _Again_!?" noticing Luke's confused expression she added, "not important. Another story," with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Luke nodded.

"_But_, anyway. Sometime between the falling asleep and the waking up I came to a decision. With this Ch-Christopher thing still being pretty fresh, it's going to be difficult." Luke's face fell." So, I just thought that I would let you know that he's called a few times and I haven't answered. I just… I thought you would like to know, incase he comes around one night when we're doing something like, I don't know, watching movies or whatever. Its such a Christopher thing to do and his _is_ Christopher." She finished with a slight shrug and a sigh.

Luke nodded slowly, still processing what she was saying. "So, wait, does that mean-?" he swallowed. "What does that mean?"

Lorelai smiled softly. A smile Luke knew meant that she was truly happy about something. "I want to try. Dating. Start a relationship. With you." She clarified.

Luke nodded. "Okay… Well, what are you doing tonight?"

"Classic themed movie night. _Casablanca, Love Story_ and either _Pretty In Pink_ or _Dirty Dancing_, depending on what we watch first and what mood we're in. You're _more_ than welcome to join."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Eight?"

Lorelai nodded and shrugged. "Whenever you can get there. Rory and I'll probably start about six."

"I'll be there at six."

"You sure?"

Luke nodded. "Yep. Now get back to your table, breakfast's ready."

Lorelai grinned and sauntered happily back to her table to share the good news with her daughter.

_Thanks for all the reviews. To those of you wondering about the "M" rating, I had complete faith in your reviewing that I put it up there for when I went further into the relationship side of it... I'll now change the story to 'in-progress' because it's still in progress. **"Oh, der, Fred!"** You're all saying it, don't lie! Anyway, I think I might get on with finishing at least one more story... Hmm, maybe one day I'll learn not to post new stories when old-er stories aren't finished... Until then, review? Lol..._

_Have a good one!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rory and Lorelai were in the kitchen talking about nothing and getting the first wave of dinner ready when they heard a knocking at the front door. Simultaneously, they turned to look at the time.

It was 5:45.

With a small smirk, Rory gestured over her shoulder toward her bedroom. "I think I'll, uh, just go and check something."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her daughter's retreating back and walked out of the kitchen to open the door. "Hi!" she greeted brightly.

Luke smiled. "Hey. I brought food." He replied, lifting the three _Luke's_ bags he was carrying.

"Oh, main course! Now we don't have to call for pizza. Come in." she stood back and opened the door a bit more.

Luke stepped over the threshold and slightly past her, before looking through the archway into the lounge. "Where's…?"

Lorelai pushed the door shut. "Her room." She answered with a glint in her eye.

They stood together awkwardly for a second, when Lorelai took a half step toward him. He smiled and Lorelai closed the gap and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Hi." She breathed, her eyes sparkling and bluer than Luke could ever remember.

"Is it safe?" called a voice from the kitchen.

Luke blushed and Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah! C'mon." she tilted her head towards the kitchen as she took Luke's elbow. "Look what I found." She announced.

"Oh! Food! Hey, Luke." Said Rory, gingerly stepping out from her room.

"Hi Rory." He replied, setting the bags down on the table. "So, I brought burgers and fries and pie for you two. I didn't know what sort of fries you'd want, so I got both chili-cheese and plain."

"Perfect." Lorelai nodded as she reached over and opening a bag. "Uh, Luke?" she asked, pulling out a salad.

"Don't worry, it's mine."

Lorelai and Rory nodded their agreement and set about opening the rest of the bags before collecting their respective dinners and heading into the lounge. Rory immediately sat on the floor at one end of the couch, while Lorelai sat smack-bang in the middle. She patted her left hand on the couch, indicating where Luke should sit and he glanced nervously at Rory.

Rory shrugged. "It's a rule. The girl with the boy gets the couch."

Lorelai nodded. "And let me tell you how good it feels to _finally_ be me." She smiled up at Luke, who hesitated for a moment, before slipping in next to her.

"Okay," started Lorelai in an official voice. "Now for the rest of the rules. Number one: -"

"No phone calls."

"Number two: -"

"No pausing, rewinding or fast-forwarding of the movie."

"It ruins the flow of the movie." Lorelai explained. "And, three: -"

"Get situated _before_ the movie starts. Mom _hates_ people wriggling and fidgeting. I remember one time when I was about five I really needed to go to the bathroom. I couldn't ask her to pause it because that'd be breaking rules one and two. I think that's how we got that third rule?"

Lorelai nodded. "Of course, this was when we were still living at the potting shed, so we were watching the movie from the bed."

"Which is worse than having someone fidget next to you on the couch, apparently."

"That bed was. The thing was so rickety. For the first three years I thought it was going to collapse under us if I rolled over."

"And then it did."

"Yes. And I _distinctly_ remember telling you not to jump on it."

"I didn't believe you."

"But you never did jump on that bed again."

"Just the one in my room now, when we first moved in."

Luke sat in silence, his eyes darting back and forth as each of the girls spoke. He hadn't known Lorelai and Rory back then, when they first moved to Stars Hollow. He'd only known them for five or six years now. "So, what are we watching first?"

"Well, as you're the guest of honor, we thought we'd let you decide. Your choices are sitting on the table there." She pointed to the corner of the coffee table nearest where he was sitting.

Luke picked them up and went through them. "_Casablanca, Pretty In Pink, Love Story_ and _Dirty Dancing_?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yep. I told you it was 'classics' night."

Luke nodded slowly. "Well, it doesn't really bother me. I haven't seen any of them."

Lorelai and Rory gasped in mock horror. "You haven't?"

Luke shook his head. "Whatever you two want to watch is fine by me."

Lorelai and Rory looked at each other. "We have such work to do." Muttered Lorelai as she handed Rory _Casablanca_. "We'll start here with the greatest movie _I_ have ever seen. And I've seen lots."

Rory nodded and dutifully crawled across the floor to put the DVD in the player. She handed her mother the remote off the coffee table and squished around on the cushion she was sitting on as Lorelai set the DVD up.

XXX

Luke had made it through _Casablanca_, _Pretty In Pink_ and half of _Dirty Dancing_ when he felt his eyelids getting heavy. If it weren't for the fact that Lorelai was leaning against him, using his shoulder as a pillow, he would probably leave. That, and Rory was resting her head against Lorelai's curled up knees.

Luke looked down at the girls and realised that this was one of those 'picture perfect' moments in time, when everything felt just so right. It had been a long time (probably since he was a kid) that he had felt like that. That he felt like nothing could go wrong and everything was exactly how it should be.

"You tired, hon?" asked Lorelai quietly.

He nodded and held a finger to his lips, determined not to break any rules.

Lorelai shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Rory's asleep. The rules only count when the two of us are awake."

Luke snorted. He probably should've realised that. His heart skipped a beat when he looked down at Lorelai. She was watching him with such soft eyes that he wondered why he hadn't tried anything with her sooner. He would've kissed her, but he was afraid of Rory waking up and seeing them kissing and scarring her for the rest of her life.

Lorelai's soft smile matched her gaze and she reached up and kissed him softly. "You wanna stay over?" she asked quietly.

Luke looked momentarily frightened.

"We don't have to do anything, but if its too late for you to go back to the diner…"

Luke looked down at her and grinned. "Okay." He whispered and kissed her lightly.

Lorelai beamed and settled back against him, the smile still on her face.

That smile was reflected on both Luke and Rory's faces as well.

XXX

"Ah!" shouted Rory the following morning.

"What's the matter, babe?" asked Lorelai, slightly panicked.

Rory pointed over Lorelai's shoulder to Luke, who was standing at the stove cooking them breakfast. "There's a man in my kitchen!"

Lorelai smirked and looked over at Luke. "Oh, so there is." She said casually, giving off the air of only just realizing he was standing there.

"Why's there a man in my kitchen?"

"He's cooking us breakfast."

"Well, I can _see_ that! I don't remember the last time there was a man in my kitchen before 12."

"Rory, its Luke. Calm down. You fell asleep on my legs last night and after I _finally_ got you into bed, we finished watching _Dirty Dancing_. Because it was so late I asked Luke if he would like to stay."

Luke nodded.

"Did you sleep together?"

Luke blushed dark red and Lorelai nodded slowly. "Yeah, but not in _that_ sense. You know, I've never slept in the same bed as a boy before." She added wonderingly.

Luke rolled his eyes, his face still slightly redder than usual. "Oh, please. You were engaged."

Rory, having calmed down now, replied, "Yeah, but on the one occasion when Max stayed over she crept down here to my bed." Rory grumbled.

Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded without saying anything.

They were silent for a few moments as Rory sat down at the table and Luke served her some coffee. She smiled in thanks and sipped at it. Just as Luke was finishing off the cooking of their meal, Lorelai leaned toward Rory and, in a stage whisper, said, "Just be thankful you got up when you did. I had to convince him to get dressed so you wouldn't see him naked."

Rory and Luke groaned. "Oh, jeez."

_Shorter, I know. But I usually write short chapters. Well, short-ish chapters. They're certainly shorter than the first two of this story, anyway. La, la, la. I love this story... Please review?_


	4. Chapter 4

_You guys rock my socks, thanks for the reviews._

_**WARNING!!!** There is mention of the **evil** Christopher in this chapte. Dialogue__ **borrowed **drom season 3, episode 2 "Haunted Leg". And, also, other random episodes from throughout the seven seasons, though, they'll (mostly) be from seasons four and five._

_Enjoy._

Chapter 4

_"Lorelai? It's your mother. Why don't you ever answer you phone? That doesn't matter now. I'm just calling to tell you that Friday Night Dinner is off this week. Your father's going to be away on business and I have a DAR function I really must attend. But we shall see you next week. Have a good night."_

Lorelai sighed in relief. She had just turned to head into the kitchen for coffee, when the phone started ringing again.

_"Lorelai? Why aren't you ever home when you call. I swear you screen my calls so you don't have to talk to me."_

Lorelai groaned. "I do!" she hissed.

_"… Lunch with you sometime before Friday. I have something important I need to discuss with you in person. No, it cannot be done over the phone and certainly not via your infernal answering machine. Call me back to arrange a time, or I will just surprise you at the inn one day. Goodbye!"_

Lorelai rolled her eyes and wandered down the hall to the kitchen. "Urgh, your grandmother is the most irritating person I have ever met."

XXX

The week progressed quickly, and before she knew it, it was time to leave the inn for lunch at _Luke's_ with her mother. Sighing, she walked through the doors, enjoying the familiar tinkling of the bells.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Luke, surprised.

"Ah, I came for the warmth." She answered, smirking.

"Well, you're just not usually here this time of day, that's all."

"Well, I'm meeting someone for lunch."

Luke smirked. "Really?"

Lorelai nodded. "Uh, yeah. Why else would I be here?"

He tilted his head and smirked again. "Well, I hear that the owner's a pretty good friend of yours."

"Oh, one of the best. But he's being incredibly annoying at the moment. Just standing around chatting and not getting me a coffee. Did I mention I'm meeting my _mother_ here for lunch?"

Luke shook his head with an almost frightened smile. "Here's you coffee. You can have it for free if you get her outta here quickly."

"I get it for free anyway."

"What? No you don't."

"I'm sorry, can you bring me a sharper fork? I'm not sure this one will go all the way through your hand."

"I'll be back in a minute to take your order."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes and threw a spoon at him as he walked away.

"Ha!" she announced triumphantly when it hit his back and clattered to the floor. Her happy bubble was quickly burst when Emily walked into the diner.

"Why are you throwing cutlery in a public place?" she asked, mortified.

"Uh, 'cause I feel stupid doing it at home?"

Emily just stood there, gazing at her daughter as if she were from another planet. Eventually Lorelai got sick of it and glanced at the chair opposite her. "So, you gonna sit?"

Emily nodded "Oh, yes, of course." She took a look at the seat and pulled out a tissue to wipe it clean, before she sat down. "There we go. Well, this is nice. You certainly can see the whole town from here, can't you?"

Lorelai nodded suspiciously. "Yes, you can."

"I can see why you come here so much. It must be fun to just sit and people-watch. Well, let's see what they've got, shall we?" she opened her diner as Lorelai looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "Oh, Caesar salad – is that good here?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Uh, I'm sure it is."

"You've never had it?" Lorelai shook her head. "Has Rory?" Lorelai shook her head again. "Oh. Well, Caesar salads can be extremely unsafe if they use bad eggs."

Lorelai shrugged. "Get something else."

Emily continued to speak as if Lorelai had stayed silent. "Of course, if they're coddled, it would be fine. Do you know if they coddle the eggs here?"

"I have no idea."

"You don't know? You come here every day."

"Trust me, we don't come here for the salads. Why don't you ask Luke if they're coddled?"

"Oh, he'll just say they are. I'll have a Cobb salad. What are you going to have?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Uh, honestly, I'm a little confused."

"About what?"

"About this."

"What's confusing? We're having lunch."

"I know we're having lunch, but we don't usually have lunch, especially not in my town at _Luke's Diner_."

"I just figured you had to work, it'd be easier on you this way."

"Okay, that's fine, if I – " but she was cut off with Luke walking over to the table.

"You two ready to order?"

"Yes. A Cobb salad and an iced tea."

He wrote it down and looked to Lorelai.

"Cheeseburger, fries, onion rings and a cherry coke."

"Any pie today?"

Lorelai tilted her head, thinking. "Hm, no thanks."

"Cutting back a little, huh? Trying to look good for the big day. Smart, very smart."

"Oh, someone's gonna be very lonely Friday night, seeing as no one will want to look at him after he's checked the oil with his _face_."

Luke shot her a look and walked away.

"What was that all about?"

Lorelai hesitated. She knew she should tell her mother about her new relationship, but they hadn't even opened up to their friends in town, let alone Lorelai's very judgmental mother. "Ah, nothing, just a little small town charm. Now, please, Mom, tell me – why did you ask me to lunch?"

Emily paused, wondering whether she should wait it out, or just be upfront. "I talked to Christopher." When Lorelai didn't comment, she continued on. "I called him last week, we talked for a very long time, and I have to tell you, he is not in love with that woman."

Lorelai sighed. "Oh, my god."

"He never came out and said it, but I could tell from his voice. He would much rather be with you and Rory. I think you need to talk to him. All he needs is to hear that you want this, too."

"Mom, what the hell are you doing calling Christopher?"

"Well, somebody had to."

"No, somebody didn't have to! And, anyway, I don't want _this_, too. I'm happy with Rory and L – the town. I love the way I live and I don't wanna change anything!"

"Oh, I certainly wasn't going to just sit by and watch this situation explode. You two belong together. It took you years to figure that out, and now that you finally have it, you can't let it go away just because of a little complication."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she knew she could talk until she was blue in the face and her mother still wouldn't hear her.

"I have to go." She announced, pushing her chair out and standing. She looked up to Luke and offered a small smile. "Dinner." She said to him, before offering her mother a glare and walking out.

XXX

Later that day Lorelai called the diner telling Luke that as much as she wanted to have dinner with him, she didn't want to go into the diner after the fight she'd had with her mother that afternoon. He told her not to worry, that'd he'd get Jess and Caesar to close up, and he'd be over at seven.

It was now 6:45.

"Oh, Lu-uke!" called a voice from one of the tables by the window.

Luke rolled his eyes. Miss Patty had been trying to talk to him since she walked in with Babbette forty-five minutes ago. They had taken up residence at the table Lorelai and Rory usually sat at for dinner and seemed determined to sit there until he bit the bullet and spoke to them.

Sighing in defeat, knowing that he couldn't put it off anymore because it was only the two women and Kirk in the diner, he walked over with the coffee pot.

"Coffee?" he asked politely, hoping that they'd go easy on him.

No such luck.

"Now, tells us, Lucas. What exactly is goin' on between you and Lorelai?" asked Babbette in her usual rasp.

Luke shrugged. "What do you mean?" Maybe feigning ignorance would help?

It didn't.

They gave him slightly condescending looks. "Honey, please." Drawled Miss Patty.

Luke sighed. "What do you want to know?"

The two town gossips looked at each other excitedly. "Tell us everything!"

"Everything _what_?" Luke asked, beginning to get annoyed. He wasn't sure exactly what they wanted, or what they already knew.

"I saw you go over there Sat'd'y night, which is movie night. You were still there when me an' Morey went to bed at 11. an' when I get up at 3 to let Apricot in, your truck was _still there_."

Luke shrugged. "We were watching movies and I fell asleep on the couch."

Miss Patty and Babbette shared knowing glances. "Okay, honey. We'll take that coffee, now. Thanks."

Luke poured them their coffee and walked back to the counter. As he stood there counting receipts he couldn't help but notice the excited whispers coming from their table.

XXX

"Hey, Luke?"

"Mmm?"

"Rory's not coming home tonight." She whispered, not moving her head off his shoulder, but taking hold of his hand softly.

Luke tilted his head toward her slightly. "Really?"

Lorelai nodded and looked up at him, her eyes full of desire. "What ever shall we do?" she asked, biting her bottom lip and gazing at his lips.

Luke shifted and shrugged, cupping her face with his left hand. "Not a clue." He murmured.

Their heads tilted forward simultaneously, their lips on centimeters apart, their hearts racing in anticipation, when someone knocked on the front door.

"Gah!" Lorelai yelled in frustration. "Hold that thought." She whispered, kissing Luke lightly.

He nodded and shakily ran his hands down his thighs and over his knees.

Lorelai smirked and walked to the door quickly and flung it open to see Christopher standing there, a worried look on his face. She tried to fling it shut just as quickly, but he stuck his foot in between it and the jamb.

"Lor, I need to talk to you."

"Chris, what are you doing here?"

"You won't return my calls!"

"You have to go."

"I'm not going until you talk to me."

Lorelai glanced behind her to the lounge, where she could see Luke. She knew he could hear, so she pushed Christopher out the door and pulled it shut behind her. She crossed her arms across her chest defensively.

"Why won't you call me back?"

"Hey, there couldn't be a worst time to have this conversation."

"Really, because it seems to be the only time to have this conversation."

"Look, go home, okay? I promise I will talk to you tomorrow."

"Well, sure, I believe that. But, you know what hits me the hardest, Lor? You keeping Rory from me."

Lorelai uncrossed her arms in anger. "What?"

"I never, ever thought you'd do that."

"I'm not keeping Rory from you."

"Oh really? Then why hasn't she called me back, huh? I mean, no matter where you and I have been in our lives, my daughter has always called me back – until now."

"She didn't call you back because she didn't want to. I had nothing to do with it. You promised her. You promised her at Sookie's wedding that this - us - was going to work, that you were going to be there, you promised her.

"She's gotta understand-"

"Chris, she _always_ understands. When she was three and you didn't show up at that park in Hartford she understood. She's never wanted anything from you. Never! And the one time she lets her guard down, you break her." They were silent for a few moments when Lorelai quietly said, "you need to leave, right now."

He opened his mouth to object when the front door opened. "Christopher, I think you'd better go now."

He looked between Luke and Lorelai and understanding hit. "Oh, I understand. You doesn't need me because _he's_ around. You know what Lorelai? I thought that what happened hurt you, but I can see now that it didn't really. I'll be around when you're done with this one."

With tears I her eyes, Lorelai pointed down the front steps and to his bike. "Leave now, please." She whispered, before pushing past Luke and into her house.

_I was nearly gonna make Luke hit him, but I'm biding my time... It'll happen, don't you worry bout THAT!_


	5. Chapter 5

_The moment we've all been waiting for – SMUT!!! Lol. Enjoy…_

Chapter 5

Luke stood at the door watching to make sure Christopher actually left. When he was gone, Luke turned to find Lorelai leaning against the wall visibly shaking. He pushed the door shut with a soft _click_ and moved to stand in front of her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and slowly looked up at him.

Luke shook his head. "What? Why?"

"Because I didn't call him back or talk to him. If I had, he wouldn't have come here tonight. Oh, this was my mother's doing. I should've seen it coming." She swiped angrily at the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't you worry about it, okay? I'm just glad I was here to get rid of him. Come here." He murmured, taking her forearms gently and pulling her to him. He wrapped her arms around his waist and hung his low around her torso.

She rested her head on his shoulder for a few minutes and slowly her sobs subsided. When they stopped completely, she pulled away enough to look up into his face. "Thank you, Luke."

"For what?"

"For being here. For being you."

Luke smiled. "Well, I'm never gonna be anyone else, am I?"

She laughed lightly and shook her head. "I guess not. I don't want you to change." She thought for a moment. "And I don't want us to eat French food, either."

Luke smiled. He remembered the conversation she was talking about clearly. He had been about '_this close_' to telling her how he felt about her.They stood in the embrace for a minute longer when Lorelai bit her lip.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me?"

Luke, never one to be able to say 'no' to _those_ blue eyes, did exactly that.

This kiss, like their first, was slow, but it wasn't tentative. They may not have had much opportunity to make out during the week or so that they'd been 'seeing' each other, but their brief encounters were already full of love.

At least, that's what Lorelai was feeling.

She pulled away panting slightly. "You're really good at that."

Luke smirked. "It was all God-given talent."

Lorelai laughed. "Hey, Luke?"

"Mmm?"

"We're still the only ones here."

"Mmm?"

"Do you wanna…?"

Luke bent his head down and kissed her.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then."

Luke smiled and kissed her again.

There was nothing slow about this kiss. It was hot and passionate and everything Lorelai wanted from her man. _Her man_.

"Bedroom… now…" she managed to mumble against his lips between kisses.

Luke nodded and cupped her ass as she leapt into his arms, wrapping her long legs around his waist.

It took him less than a minute to get upstairs and to her room, where he placed her gently on the bed. She leant back slowly, their lips never parting. Lorelai's fingers fumbled blindly over the buttons on his red and white flannel. It was made all the harder with Luke's hands dancing all over her body and playing with the hem of her t-shirt.

She arched her back as he started to slowly drag it up and over her head. His hands grazing the now bare skin of her stomach and sides.

"No fair." She whimpered, realizing she was only in her bra and jeans.

Luke sat back and unbuttoned his shirt for her and waited until she pushed it off before letting his eyes fall to her chest. Luke had never seen a most perfect body. Granted, he hadn't been like many of the other guys at his high school, preferring to either have one girlfriend or no girlfriend. And he wasn't the type of guy to settle for one-night-stands, either.

But, having spent his whole life in Stars Hollow and every summer for as long as he could remember at the lake, he had seen many a female walk by. And, as conservative as he was, he _was_ male.

Lorelai blushed and felt the heat rise in her body under Luke's intense and appreciative gaze. She lent back to rest on her elbows, and cocked her head to the side. "Luke?"

He looked up at her. "God, you are so beautiful." He murmured and fell forward to kiss her.

From that moment things progressed quickly. Clothes were stripped and thrown haphazardly on the floor (not that Lorelai would notice. Sometimes she could almost _swear_ that her maturity froze at sixteen).

She felt as thought her whole body was on fire from Luke's kisses and touches. Everywhere his lips or hands hit her skin came alight like no other man (or boy) had ever been able to do and she briefly wondered if this was what true love felt like in its simplest form. But, as quickly as the thought rose, she quashed it. She couldn't be _in love_ with Luke. Not yet and not like that. She loved him as a friend, as she once loved Christopher, when they lay in a similar position.

However, she couldn't deny that this felt a _hell_ of a lot different. This was better.

"Lorelai? I don't have anything." Mumbled Luke huskily.

"What?"

"Any… you know…"

She shook her head, understanding. "Its okay, I'm on the pill."

Luke looked relieved and ducked his head to kiss her as he pushed inside her.

"Oh, God…" she moaned.

For their first time they found their rhythm quickly. With each push Lorelai tilted her hips to take him deeper and, as she got closer to her climax, she lifted them higher to take him even deeper.

She knew was close and felt as though the simplest touch or kiss in the right spot would send her over.

Unfortunately, Luke had somehow realised this too and stayed well clear of the places her seemed to instinctively know would send her flying.

Not that she was really complaining. This first time was the most fun she'd ever had in that bed. And she really didn't want it to end any time soon.

Luke knew he couldn't hold on much longer. He had dreamt about this moment for so long that he wanted it to last as long as possible. But it was becoming increasingly difficult.

Lorelai ran her hands down his chest as he moved his lips from her mouth to her neck and it was all over for them. She hit her climax and Luke fell right along with her.

Sweaty and spent, Luke rolled off her and flopped on his back, looking over at her as his breathing returned to normal.

"Lorelai, this thing we're doing – you and me – I just want you to know I am in. I am _all_ in." he paused and tucked a peace of hair behind her ear. "Does that, uh… are you scared?"

Lorelai smiled and shifted so she was laying half across his chest. Her chin resting on the back of her hand above his heart. She leant up and kissed him softly and slowly. "I'm petrified." She replied honestly. "But I know it's going to be okay because you're with me."

He smiled and kissed her again.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey, guys! Guess what!? I'M BACK!!! Sorry it's taken so freakin long, but we only just got the internet back on our computer about a week ago. My sister's all better and... yeah. All is well in the land of "me". I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the ones still to come, cause I like to write them... Have fun, be good, and don't forget your manners... Cheers!_

_Flashback in italics._

Chapter 6

"Twice last night and once this morning."

"Oh, jeez. Mom!"

Lorelai smirked. "Sorry, but you asked."

"Yeah, but the question did you do something slutty could have easily been answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. You didn't even have to _say_ anything! You could have just nodded!"

"Yeah but where's the fun in that?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "You're fifteen."

Lorelai grinned and nodded. "Uh-huh. Hey, is it still slutty if I'm dating the man?"

Rory shot her a look and didn't answer.

"Oh! Brady Bunch Variety Hour!"

All thoughts of what Luke and her mother had been up to the night before left Rory's mind as she settled in to the Brady Bunch.

"This is sublime."

"It was the golden age of television." Lorelai agreed.

"The music, the costumes, the sets."

"All cylinders were firing on this one, boy!"

"And who knew they had such musical talent?"

"And such far-out booty-shaking abilities as well."

"Mail, ladies."

"Thanks, Eddie." Lorelai replied without shifting her gaze from the TV. Rory turned her head and got up to collect the mail from the bench seat just inside the door. All mindless conversation was lost on her as she flipped through the envelopes.

"It's here." She almost whispered.

"What's here?"

"My application to Harvard."

"Oh, my God!" Lorelai moved off the couch to check out the beautiful envelope with the impressive letter 'H'.

Rory wondered why the mail couldn't have come earlier, when she was reading. Her worries were lessened slightly (very slightly, almost not at all) when Lorelai promised to try and keep it a secret from the Harvard authorities.

Rory was studying that globe when it came. Really, she was.

XXX

They settled down in the kitchen to work on the application. Immediately, Lorelai made a joke about what Rory was doing when it arrived, and, after a couple more jokes and a dig at Christopher (Lorelai had told Rory about his little appearance shortly before telling her the PG version of her night with Luke), they got down to serious business.

The essay.

In the back of her mind Rory had always thought about writing the essay on her mother. The young, single mother who ran away from a life of privilege and comfort to raise her daughter her way. She had envisioned the 'riches-to-rags-to-riches' tale she would tell about life in a small, close-knit, Connecticut town. The funky and quirky characters and strong and steady believers that had always, and would always, be there for them.

Lorelai suggested an author, which got Rory thinking about the other inspiring women she had witnessed while growing up. Either way, she had plenty of time to write and re-write the essay before sending off the final copy.

After more jokes from Lorelai and loud music from Lane, they decided to shift the application writing and planning into the contaminated outside world. The short time cleaning was a small price to pay for a disturbance free application discussion.

XXX

Rory's plan to write the essay on Hilary Clinton was shot to flames at Chilton the following Friday afternoon. Why had it never occurred to her that millions of other girls around America would be using the same woman? And why had it never occurred to her that choosing all the interests (except sports) would be an overload? She knew she wasn't really interested in fashion – that was more her mother's thing.

She couldn't remember ever having a burning desire to look at Kate Moss or Tyra Banks or any of the other models often photographed in her mother's _InStyle_ magazines. Sure, she read them occasionally, but it was her mother that brought and subscribed to them.

And she knew, as the panic began to rise in her chest when she couldn't get a hold of Lorelai, that panicking wasn't going to help. But once she got worked up it was hard to come back down.

And Lorelai's own freak-out wasn't helping much.

XXX

After a relatively pleasant evening at the elder Gilmore's (minus the freak-outs experienced by the three generations of Gilmore girls) Rory and Lorelai stopped off at Luke's for coffee and pie. As they were sitting at the counter talking and joking with Luke, Rory realised that the family she dreamed of as a little girl had been staring her in the face since she was 11 or 12.

Her grandmother had been right; Luke was the leading male in all of Lorelai's stories about their life.

He was the one that was there for them when the unexpected occurred. From lost school projects, to termites, to sickness and hospital visits.

"Hey, Luke? How did you and mom meet? It had to have been here, right?"

Luke looked from Rory to Lorelai and back again. "It was here, during lunch and the place was packed."

Rory smiled.

_Luke rushed around the coffee pot in one hand and order pad in the other. He had a pencil tucked between his ear and the band of his faded green baseball cap._

_The diner had been open for a little over two years, but it still amazed him when it got busy like this. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that his dad's old hardware store would produce the business it had now._

_He could still remember hiding down behind the counter from his mother when he was supposed to be at school._

_The bells that'd been there since the building first opened for business tinkled and Luke groaned inwardly._

_"I am in desperate need of a massive cup of coffee." __Announced the woman._

Rory's eyes danced with glee. "Was it mom?"

Lorelai shot her a dirty look and focused back on Luke.

_The dark-haired, blue-eyed woman followed him around talking about 'some damned French-man' and 'new staff' and a chef, who, no matter how many years they'd known each other, still managed to amaze her with new cooking adventures._

_"Aaand, to top it all off, I completely forgot that my daughter's teacher/parent conference is in thirty minutes."_

_Luke turned around to find the woman right behind him._

_"Coffee, please!" she demanded, holding a cup out to him._

_"You followed me around?"_

_She nodded._

_Luke rolled his eyes. "Look, we're busy and you're annoying me. Will you sit down, shut up and wait your turn? I'll get to you when I get to you."_

"I bet she took that well." Rory mumbled with a smirk.

_The woman pouted, __–_

"Definitely mom. Ow!" Rory rubbed the spot where Lorelai had swatted at her with her hand.

_but__ took a seat at the counter, her eyes roaming the small diner and falling onto a discarded newspaper. With a mischievous grin, she dragged the paper and hunted through her handbag for a pen. Finally she located one and pulled it out in triumph._

_"Yo, flannel man! When's your birthday?"_

_"What?"_

_"Your birthday?__ What day were you born?"_

_He shook his head grumbling and ignored her._

_"Please tell me your date of birth?" she tried again._

_He continued to ignore her._

_Puffing out a breath, she decided on one, last ditch effort. "I promise I won__'__t say another word to you, ever, if you tell me your birthday."_

_Growling in frustration, he pulled a to-go cup from under the counter. __"Fine.__ November 11__th__. I was born on the 11__th__ of November."_

_She smirked and wrote something on the paper before tearing it out and handing it to him._

_He read it quickly and rolled his eyes. "You don__'__t honestly expect me to believe this, do you?"_

_She nodded, smiling wide._

_Sighing in defeat, he poured the coffee and capped the cup. "Here. First time customers are on the house."_

_She grinned and slid off the stool. She'd walked all the way to the door before she turned and spoke to him. "Keep it in your wallet. One day it'll bring you luck."_

Luke reached into his back pocket and extracted his wallet. Without looking at either of the girls, he opened it and pulled out a yellowing piece of paper. He unfolded it and sat it on the counter in front of them.

"You kept this? You kept this –"

"Six years."

"You kept this in your wallet for six years?"

Luke nodded.

"What does it say?" asked Rory, intrigued. She had never heard that story.

_"You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she'll go away." _Luke and Lorelai replied in unison without taking their eyes off each other.

"But she didn't go away." Rory stated.

They shook their heads.

"Man, mom. You will say anything for a cup of coffee."

"I meant what I said last night, Lorelai. I am all in."

Lorelai nodded. "I'm glad I decided to come back."

Luke smiled. "Me, too."

They leant forward and kissed just as Babbette and Miss Patty walked in.

The news was all over town in ten minutes.

_Next one to come in a few days..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lorelai walked into the diner the next morning with a smile on her face and whistling a U2 song. The whistling and smile vanished quickly when she realised that all the tables were taken, including the one she and Rory usually sat at for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. Or any other time they were in there together.

"Huh."

"What?"

"Look". Lorelai swept a wide arm around the diner.

"Huh." Agreed Rory.

"Lu-uke!" Lorelai whined, nudging Rory to make sure she, too, had the infamous 'Gilmore pout and puppy-dog eyes' turned on.

"Sorry. We've been busy all morning. There are two stools at the counter, that's the best I can offer."

"But –"

"Lorelai." She was silenced by the glare and the low level of Luke's voice that reminded her of the night they spent together just over a week ago. Pouting, she took Rory's elbow and steered her into a stool.

"What can I get you?"

"Friday night special." Lorelai replied with a smirk.

"For breakfast?"

"Well, I haven't had one in over a week." She defended.

Rory rolled her eyes and Luke blushed when he picked up on the meaning. "Oh, jeez."

"Well, it was so good I can't wait for more."

This time Rory pulled a face. "Mo-om! Delicate ears!" she moaned, covering them.

It was then that Lorelai realised the diner was filled with locals. There wasn't one person in there that she hadn't exchanged pleasantries with at a town function.

And they kept looking at the three of them.

"You're kidding me." She groaned.

Rory flashed Lorelai a worried glance. "What?"

"They know."

"Who knows what?"

"They – the town – _know_." She stressed.

Suddenly the meaning was all very clear.

"Ha!" murmured Rory. "Rethinking the Friday night special?"

Lorelai shook her head and smiled at Luke. "Never. But I am thinking I should go have a quick chat with those four over there." She pointed to two tables in a corner that housed Babbette, Miss Patty, Mrs. Cassini and 'east-side' Tilly.

"Please do. They've been on my back all morning. Wanting me to go over and 'chin wag' with them." Mumbled Luke.

Rory snickered. Before Lorelai could move, Babbette and Miss Patty were on their way over. Luke groaned, Lorelai sighed and Rory smiled.

"Too late." She smirked.

"Mornin', sugahs."

"Hello, darlings."

"Hey Babbette, Miss Patty." Lorelai greeted with an easy smile.

"We were wonderin'," started Babbette.

"Mmm?"

"If you could possibly do us a favour." Finished Miss Patty.

"No." replied Luke automatically.

Lorelai shot him look. "Maybe. What's up?"

"Well,"

"We were wonderin',"

"What's going on between you," Miss Patty nodded to Lorelai. "And that delightful specimen?" she nodded to Luke with a hungry look in her eyes.

Lorelai glanced at Luke. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"Are ya's doin' the 'horizontal dance', or what?"

Rory snorted, which earned her a glare from Lorelai and a surprised look from Luke. "Sorry." She managed to choke out between holding her giggle in.

Lorelai sighed. "Well,"

"Whatever dance Lorelai and I may or may-not be doing is none of your business." Luke said in an angry voice.

"So, that's a 'yes', then?" asked Miss Patty innocently.

Lorelai glanced at Luke again, which was all the confirmation the two gossip queens needed.

"It's about time!"

"Here, here." Agreed Rory, for which she was rewarded with not only another glare from her mother, but one from Luke as well. "What!? It's true! We've all know it for, like, five years. Luke, you kept that horoscope, and, mom, you were so jealous of Rachel and upset when you fought. We could all see it."

"She has a point." Muttered Lorelai to Luke.

"What horoscope?" asked Babbette and Miss Patty in unison.

"I don't believe this. Next thing we know, Taylor'll be holding a town meeting to discuss how, in the unlikely event of a break up, the town would be affected."

"Luke?" asked Lorelai softly.

"Look, this relationship is mine and Lorelai's. Ours. Not anyone else's, okay? So we would both appreciate it if you left us alone to go about living our lives."

Stunned momentarily by Luke's rant, Babbette and Miss Patty turned to Rory.

"And you can leave Rory, Jess, Dean _and_ Lane out of this, too."

"Okay, okay, fine. You win, Luke. But just remember: this town has eyes and ears everywhere."

"Yeah? Well those eyes and ears better get used to me and Lorelai quickly and keep their mouths shut because those eyes and ears and mouths won't be welcome in my diner." He paused and glared at the on-lookers. "Go it?" when nobody moved or made a sound, he nodded once. "Good. Discussion _over_."

It the wake of Luke's heartfelt rant the diner was silent and took several minutes to return to its usual level of noise. It took him nearly that long to calm down. When he eventually did, he poured both Rory and Lorelai a cup of coffee.

As he poured, Lorelai reached a hand out and placed it on his arm softly. "Luke, that was…"

"Wow." Rory supplied, eyes bugged.

Luke shrugged. "This town needs a hobby or something. Look, you came back, I kept the horoscope and we're both still all in. I didn't say anything I didn't mean, okay?"

Lorelai nodded and realised that maybe – just maybe – she had fallen head-over-heels, completely, 'til-I-grow-old-and-death-do-us-part-wearing-matching-jogging-suits in love with her best friend, one Lucas Danes.

Actually, scratch that. She _knew_ it.


	8. Chapter 8

_I know, I know. Long time no write-y. I'm slack and crap and everything. Please feel free to hurl as much abuse at me as you see fit, it's the least I can do after how ever long it's been._

Chapter 8

Lane was almost hysterical. And an almost hysterical Lane was nearly as scary as an almost hysterical Lorelai. Especially when Rory had no idea what was going through their minds. And that went for both her mother and best friend. She hurried to keep up with Lane, and let out a quiet groan when she realised where Lane was going.

_The Stars Hollow Beauty Supply Store._

"What are you doing? "

"Choosing a colour." Lane replied determinedly

"You're gonna dye your hair?" Rory asked, disbelieving.

"Yes, I am. Lots of choices here. Help me narrow it down."

"You can't do this."

"Of course I can."

"And what, walk around in a hood all the time? How are you gonna hide this from your mom?"

"I'm not gonna hide it, that's the point."

"Lane, think about this for a second, at least."

"Rory, I've been thinking about this my whole life. Nothing's gonna change unless I change it, and now's the time. I need to make a clear statement, one I can't go back on or chicken out on, one that everyone can see. And this is my instrument, it says 'This is me, this is Lane Kim.'" She held up a tub of dye.

"That is you, its black hair dye." Rory replied dully.

"This is merely a prop until we find my true colour. Now, what do you think? Pink? Or is that too Pink the singer and Kelly Osbourne and Gwen Stefani… man, there's a lot of cheese associated with the colour pink. Okay, pink's out. There… there's blue – what about blue?"

With a sigh, Rory replied, "Blue's probably not right for your skin tone, and I agree with you about pink. What about purple?"

"Yes, purple, you're brilliant."

"And bleach, don't forget the bleach."

"Bleach, right, okay, I'll get the bleach. Thank you."

Rory walked to the checkout counter, "And make sure that you get some… gloves." Her sentence dying slightly when she notices who's sitting behind the counter.

Oh, yeah. Today was a _great_ day.

XXX

"Hey. Did you lose track of time?" asked Lorelai, walking into the diner that same afternoon.

Luke looked up at her. "What? Why?"

"It's four o'clock."

"I know."

"We were supposed to be at the school, like, now."

"I know."

"But you're not ready." She pointed out.

Luke looked down at his clothes. "What? Oh, right, right, sorry. Okay, I'm ready." He replied, dropping his apron on the counter.

She shot him a look and shook her head slightly. "Au contraire."

"What?"

"You are _so_ not ready."

"What are you talking about?"

"The grunge look is out." She answered, waving a hand over him.

"Hey, I'm not dressing up for this."

"Well, you need something better than that."

"The whole point of this stupid class talk was for us to talk about our work and our success. This flannel shirt is my most successful outfit. I've closed many a deal in this outfit. It's my power outfit."

Lorelai sighed. "Come on." She took him by the collar and pulled him in the direction of the curtain and the stairs to his apartment.

"I don't wanna change." He whined.

"Be a good boy and I'll buy you a toy afterward. You wanna toy?" she teased enticingly. "Sorry to barge in." she added to Jess in an apologetic tone.

"No problem. What was that about a toy?"

"Your Uncle Luke is getting one if he's a good boy." She answered with a smirk.

"Can we make this more demeaning? Hey, why don't you go downstairs and help out Caesar?"

"I think my education comes first, don't you?" Jess asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Lorelai started hunting through his closet for a shirt he could wear, while Luke stood behind her grumbling.

"That attitude's gonna lose you that toy." Interjected Jess.

"Stay outta this!" warned Luke, pointing his finger at him.

"We've got ourselves a winner." Announced Lorelai, pulling a plain, pale blue shirt out.

"Fine, fine, come on."

"Just change in here."

"I'll be more comfortable in here." He replied, walking into the bathroom.

"I've seen you swimming at the lake so I've seen you with your shirt off. Not to mention the 'Friday night special'."

He and Jess shared a look and both males groaned. "I'll be one second."

"Lose the baseball cap, too." Shouted Lorelai to his back

"You run the risk of his head falling off without it." Muttered Jess.

"I think he'll be okay."

"Happy?" asked Luke, walking out of the bathroom.

"Thrilled. Now a tie with that would be just great."

"We're leaving. And it's gotta be something I don't have to put together."

"What?"

"My toy."

"Got it." When they were out in the hall, she twisted her arm through his and leant in close to his ear. "If you're really, really good _I_ might be that present."

XXX

Bored with waiting for her chance to talk to the kids, Lorelai got up and wandered over to a display case. It was a case she had seen millions of times when she was here with Rory, but she's never really stopped to look at it. "Oh my God."

"What?" asked Luke, intrigued.

"Nothing, nothing at all, _Butch_."

Luke looked at her, a slightly shocked expression on his face. He peered over her shoulder at the display. "For the love of… what's that doing there?"

"What's it doing? It's yelling, 'Mock me, mock me!'"

"It shouldn't be there."

"Oh no, you're right. It should have its own special display at the diner with a big old spotlight on it. Or at my place so I can see you as a cute teen whenever I want." She added thoughtfully.

Luke glared at the back of her head. "Don't they need my permission for this? This should be illegal." He muttered.

"No, those shorts with that tank top should be illegal."

"Okay, stop now."

"Oh, the girls just swooned when Butch Danes took the field." She mocked in a southern accent.

"I knew there was another good reason not to do this."

"Oh no, don't walk away, Butch. Well, if I thought you didn't care, I'd die, oh, I'd just die." She giggled.

Luke turned and shot her a look. "You know I care. Now sit down and shut up. Please?"

Lorelai's smirk turned into a soft smile and she dropped into the seat next to Luke's.

"Thank you." he muttered, quickly checking the hall for people and leaning forward to give her a chaste kiss.

They relaxed into as comfortable position as you can get into on a wooden bench, when Debbie finally emerged from the classroom. At first neither Luke, who was lounging on the bench, his head resting against Lorelai's shoulder talking quietly, noticed the new person. It wasn't until the other mother cleared her throat gently that they looked up, almost shocked. "Okay, we're all ready for you guys."

"Great, excellent." Lorelai replied, slightly flustered.

"Okay, uh, Luke, you can have a seat here while Lorelai's talking, okay?" instructed Debbie as they walked in.

"Okay."

Lorelai pointed to the corner of the desk "Hey, what's that? Luke plus Sissy?" she asked with a smirk.

"Start your speech. Or the Friday night specials will cease to exist. On any night of the week."

She pouted at him and followed Debbie to the front of the room as the blonde woman started to speak. "Okay, everyone, we're ready to begin. We have two local luminaries here to talk to us today. You probably all recognize Luke Danes from his fabulous diner, but we're really excited to begin with a former Stars Hollow High mom, Lorelai Gilmore."

The classroom clapped politely and Lorelai started on her speech, but was soon interrupted by a hand in the air. The question shocked her, seeing as they were there to talk about careers and not her untimely pregnancy, but she answered all the same.

What harm could answering a couple of questions do? She knew she should try and keep it strictly to the desired topic, but she also knew that, while getting pregnant had been a mistake, everything that came along after wasn't. And, after all, her pregnancy was a huge part of the reason she was where she was today. Right?

Wrong.

"Don't." demanded Lorelai as she and Luke walked along the street later. He was _still_ laughing at the happenings at the school

"I'm trying not to, I swear. I'm not trying hard, I'll grant you that."

"What was with those kids? So curious, so full of questions. Shouldn't their brains be completely fried on TV and video games by now? It wasn't funny. You should be on my side, being my _boyfriend_ and all."

"Might not have been funny from your angle. From mine, it was an evening at the Improv. "

"I'm not gonna be allowed within a mile of the school ever again." She moaned.

Luke smirked. "Look at it this way; you did me a favour. Now I have a pleasant memory from that school – you being nailed like a two by four by a group of sixteen-year-olds."

"Hello, girlfriend." She said, waving a hand up and down in front of herself. "Couldn't we have done it on a teacher's desk or something? Wouldn't that have been a pleasant memory? Oh no, what's this?"

"Looks like high noon in Stars Hollow."

"They're not carrying tar and feathers, are they?" she asked, turning toward him slightly, hiding her face. "Oh, hi everybody. Wow, the whole gang. What's up?"

"Well, I felt obligated to tell the other moms about your little performance at school before they heard about it elsewhere."

"So, you're preaching to our daughters that it's okay to get pregnant at sixteen, am I getting that right?" asked one woman.

"No, not at all, I was just answering their questions." Defended Lorelai.

"Well, it's your answers we didn't like." Stated the same blonde woman.

"Hey, I was talking about my job like I was supposed to, but your kids kept asking about my pregnancy. What was I supposed to do?"

"Fend them off, change the subject!" exclaimed Debbie.

Lorelai sighed. "I tried, Debbie, but they kept coming at me like I was Poland and they were Nazis. Remember the old days, girls, when I used to make you laugh?"

"There's nothing funny about this." Stated another woman.

"Their questions just threw me off, that's all." Lorelai tried to explain.

"Sounds like you just flaunted your mistakes." Said the first woman again.

"Now, hold on. You have no right to judge me. All I said was that for my particular circumstances things worked out okay. I advocated nothing to them. You're all acting like I walked into that room tossing condoms in the air."

"You might as well have." Mumbled the second lady.

"Fine, next time I will. I'll bring a banana and we'll have a little show and tell. How 'bout that?"

"What kind of mother are you?"

"The kind that doesn't gloss over things just because they're a little uncomfortable."

"This whole incident was awkward and unnecessary."

Lorelai shook her head as an idea popped into her mind. "No, Deb, I'd say, Deb, that what's awkward and unnecessary, Deb, is that you all seem to go to the same lousy hairdresser. How 'bout mixing it up a little, huh, girls?"

"I gotta get going. You good here?" asked Luke.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. I'll see you later."

"You don't have to take that tone."

"You ambush me, then you're offended by my tone?"

XXX

Rory stormed out of the Beauty Store for the second time that day. Stupid blonde girls and their stupid words and all because _she_ was with Jess, when Rory had been almost ready to break it off with Dean. As she stomped her way back to Lane's, she decided that it was probably better this way, what with her mother and Luke getting together.

But, still, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that almost screamed 'Jess is better suited'. But after letting her stomach scream that at her, her brain kicked in and muttered 'you and Dean might be different, but so are your mother and Luke. And look how well they go together'. And, while she could ignore lots of things, that was one thing she couldn't.

Her brain was, as per usual, right.

She sighed and wandered up the path to Lane's and toward the tree that would allow her to climb back into the bedroom without Mrs. Kim catching her. It didn't take very long for them to dye Lane's hair back to black, and when they were done, they snuck downstairs slowly, wondering if Mrs. Kim was about. To their utter relief she was nowhere to be seen, so they could exit without an interrogation.

XXX

An hour or so later, Rory and Lane were walking around town, when they ran into Lorelai. After some brief conversation, Lane decided to go home, while Lorelai and Rory headed to Luke's for dinner.

As they wandered in the direction of the food provider, Lorelai filled Rory in on everything that had happened at the school, which got Rory thinking about her mother's life, and her college entry essays.

Maybe she could write about her mother, instead of on of 'her authors'?

_I'm thinking about that essay, and I suck at writing them. If anyone wants to help out, email me. I'm trying to write it myself, but it's not really coming along very well. My email is: . Cheers!_


End file.
